Bathroom extractor light

Yogi2dab · Post by **Yogi2dab** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:04 pm

Evening all. Today my bathroom extractor fan packed up so I’m looking to change/modify it. The extractor is a pull cord fan and is in the wrong location in my bathroom so isn’t very effective. I have 4 down lights and I’d like to switch the downlight above the bath with a led shower light fan and remove the old fan altogether. I’m a competent diy’er and have a basic knowledge of domestic electrics, but want to make sure I’m doing this right. Can anyone offer their guidance on how this can be achieved?

Thanks

Neelix · Post by **Neelix** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:11 pm

Why do you think the fan is in the wrong location

Yogi2dab · Post by **Yogi2dab** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:20 pm

It’s location makes it inefficient at drawing steam from the room when taking a hot shower.

Neelix · Post by **Neelix** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:45 pm

Yogi2dab wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:21 pm
Neelix wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:11 pm Why do you think the fan is in the wrong location
It’s location makes it inefficient at drawing steam from the room when taking a hot shower.

As long as you have a big enough gap under the door, and keep the window closed, the location is largely irrelevant

Yogi2dab · Post by **Yogi2dab** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:05 pm

Neelix wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:45 pm
Yogi2dab wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:21 pm
Neelix wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:11 pm Why do you think the fan is in the wrong location
It’s location makes it inefficient at drawing steam from the room when taking a hot shower.
As long as you have a big enough gap under the door, and keep the window closed, the location is largely irrelevant

The location is too far away from the source of the steam. The entire room has to fill with steam before the fan is effective and I have tried multiple fans. The fan needs to be closer to the source, hence why I’m looking to switch one of the downlights above the shower for an extractor light. Hopefully someone will have done this before.

Neelix · Post by **Neelix** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:12 pm

^^ being further away from the steam shouldn’t be an issue.

How large is the gap under the door ?

What type of fan do you have ?

What is the distance to the outside?

Also those fans with lights aren’t that good in my experience

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:15 pm

Yogi2dab, I suspect you think that if the fan was closer to the steam it would suck it out?
Sorry to tell you, but fans don't quite work like that.
Fans push air. So if a fan is mounted in a tube (As most bathroom fans are) it will try and push the steam up and out via the tube. There are several things to check first.
1) The fan/its grille is it clear? (They do need regular cleaning)
2) Is the grille on the other end of the pipe clear?
3) Is the pipe itself clear/squashed? (Mine is flexible and sometimes my OH is in the loft and a box falls onto the pipe, squashing it)

Here is the really daft sounding, but most important thing. Replacement air.
As I said, a fan pushes air, BUT it can only do this if there is enough air to replace the air it has just pushed up the pipe, if there is not enough replacement air, your fan can go as fast as you like, it will not clear the room as it has no more air to push up the pipe, that is why Neelix is asking about the gap under the door, the bigger the gap the more replacement air can get in, me, I am looking at putting a vent in the bathroom door as the gap is too small.

Try this. Shut the bathroom windows, and the door turn the shower on get some steam in the room, now open the door an inch or two if you must, the steam will soon be gone. (Assuming you checked items 1-3 and all are ok)

Bear in mind, most small fans can only move around 70 cubic metres an hour which is just over 1 cubic metre a minute, and that is down hill, and all things clean.